No solution in sight for Gaza's severe water crisis

The Gaza Strip's ongoing water crisis looks unlikely to be solved any time soon with pollution affecting 95 percent of the aquifer in the Palestinian coastal enclave, Palestinian and international experts said on Friday.Husam Zaqout, the Gaza-based expert of environment, told a local workshop marking the International Water Day that the groundwater in the Gaza Strip "is polluted to different degrees by toxic organic and non-organic materials."He warned that the water pollution and shortage may develop into a full-scale humanitarian crisis sooner than people expect.Since Islamic Hamas movement took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, Israel has been imposing a blockade against the Palestinian enclave. The embargo makes it difficult to build an efficient water sanitation infrastructure for the rapidly growing population."Water shortage in Gaza climbed to 80 million cubic meters," said Zaqout, adding that the rocks in the aquifer are gradually eroding, giving rise to the amount of salt and pollutants in the water it contains.Monzer Shublaq, director general of the Gaza waters authority, told Xinhua that another factor behind the water crisis is Israel' s abuse of Gaza's groundwater.Shublaq accused Israel of establishing dozens of huge water pumps along its border with Gaza. He said these pumps have taken an excessive amount of groundwater from Gaza's aquifer, drawing in salty seawater and polluted water to fill up the hole.Echoing Shublaq's opinion, a report prepared by an Arab League committee said Israel is using 90 percent of the Palestinian territories' water while the Palestinians are only using 10 percent.The water issue is one of the six major permanent status issues, which also include issues of settlement, refugees, Jerusalem, borders and security.A German study two years ago showed that the samples of Gaza drinkable water contained a high percentage of toxic oxidized nitrates that could damage the health of young children," said Shublaq, warning that within a few years, the Gaza Strip will face a real, crucial humanitarian crisis.Jane Ghoff, the special envoy of UNICEF said the biggest problem that confronts the Gaza Strip "is the bad water that can't be used by humans." She told a news conference here that saline and waste water that has infiltrated Gazan aquifer "is so dangerous that it directly harm the population."She noted that the Gaza Strip is currently suffering from a severe shortage in water, which see each individual in Gaza only get 90 liters per day, far below the level of 100-150 liters set by the World Health Program.Majdi Duhair, a director in the Hamas-run ministry of health told Xinhua that the chemicals in Gaza's water aquifer is very poisonous, adding that such elements can cause diseases that harm kidneys and livers.